Abstract:

As a Lecturer PhD, currently teaching English for Specific Purposes to 1st and 2nd year medical students, in October 2011, I began a postdoctoral fellowship. My postdoctoral fellowship is part of the national postdoctoral program “Transnational Network for Integrated Management of Postdoctoral Research in Communicating Sciences. Institutional building (postdoctoral school) and fellowship program (CommScie) – POSDRU /89/1.5/S/63663 financed under the Sectoral Operational Programme Human Resources Development 2007-2013. The theme of my research is “An Exploration of Intercultural Communication Effectiveness in Health Care".

Over the last 25 years there has been considerable pressure from professional medical bodies throughout the world to improve training and evaluation of doctors with regard to communication skills. Skill in communication is essential in establishing good relationships between doctors and patients. Therefore communication skills can be learned and they should be a systematic part of all medical education. The idea of my research came witnessing the increasing number of Romanian physicians who choose to carry out their medical profession in English speaking environments. Once these graduates find themselves in the foreign medical system, they are confronted both with the linguistic and cultural barriers. A medical doctor needs to be able to fully understand and communicate with his / her patient. Therefore, our main goal is to create the possibilities to develop the language and interpersonal skills essential to the establishment and maintenance of rapport between doctors and their patients. Medical students should become aware of the need to possess these communication skills in general, but also to get some cross-cultural communication skills early in their career. An opportunity for them to develop these skills is during the ESP courses and seminars that are part of the academic curricula in the first two years of their medical studies.

My project on intercultural communication effectiveness in health care is an Action-Research undertaking through which the scientific research and practical applications are intertwined. The Action-Research methodology thus serves a double purpose, aiming both at deeper knowledge and a more efficient practice. The activities inside the course have in view the useful training of future doctors in acquiring the necessary skills in communication with the patient in a foreign language, drawing the students’ attention on cultural issues or any other different aspects of culture that could cause misunderstandings in the doctor-patient encounter. The aim of the course is not to teach medicine or medical practices, the trainer will act as a facilitator and expert in the English language and communication skills, rather than an expert in medicine. The communication techniques that the students are going to learn will help them re-think their communication strategies in their native language as well, not only in English. Thus students are involved in a new educational activity on their own active involvement in learning as practice and analysis. Looking at the professional future of the students, their involvement in this project will help them to become models of pluridimensional professional identity.

Keywords:

Intercultural communication, communication effectiveness, doctor-patient communication.